The Washington State Constitution is the state constitution of the State of Washington. It is the document that describes the fundamental structure and function of the state's government. Washington has had two constitutions: one in 1878 and the current one, which was ratified by the state's voters on October 1, 1889.[1]

Article I

Article I is labeled Declaration of Rights.It includes 35 sections and has been amended seven times since the current version of the Washington State Constitution was ratified on October 1, 1889.

Article I lays out a variety of fundamental citizen rights in the state, covering topics such as the rights of petition and assembly, freedom of speech, the rights of the accused and the rights of crime victims, religious freedom, habeas corpus, eminent domain, the right to bear arms, and the right of recall.

Article III

Article III is labeled The Executive. It has 25 sections which define the duties, rights and perogatives of the office of the Governor of Washington, and other statewide constitutional officers. Article III has been amended three times since the current State of Washington Constitution was adopted in 1889:

Article V

Article VI

Article VI is labeled Elections and Elective Rights. It includes sections 1-8 and 1A, for a total of nine sections. Article VI describes voter qualifications, who can be disqualified, residency requirements for voting in particular areas, the "privilege from arrest" enjoying under certain voting circumstances, the legislature's obligation to create a voter registration system, and when elections are to be held.

Article VI has been amended five times, the first time in 1896 and most recently in 1988.

Article VII

Article VII is labeled "Revenue and Taxation." According to The Washington State Constitution: A Reference Guide, Article VII was passed by the constitutional convention that led to the 1889 constitution "with little debate". Scholars Robert Utter and Hugh Spitzer go on to describe Article VII as "a mixture of original language mingled with sentences and phrases borrowed from many other states".[2]

Article VII has been amended 16 times, the first time in 1900 and most recently in 2007.

According to Utter and Spitzer (2002), the "paramount duty" language in Section 1 is some of the strongest language in any state constitution governing the duty of a state to guarantee the education "of all children residing within its borders."[2]

Article X

Article X concerns the state's militia. It defines "all able-bodied male citizens of this state between the ages of eighteen (18) and forty-five (45) years except such as are exempt by laws of the United States or by the laws of this state" as being "liable to military duty." It does allow room for conscientious objection, but only during times of peace and after making a payment for their exemption: "No person or persons, having conscientious scruples against bearing arms, shall be compelled to do militia duty in time of peace: Provided, such person or persons shall pay an equivalent for such exemption."

Article XI

Article XI describes the organization of the subsections of the state. It is labeled County, City, And Township Organization. It includes sections 1-16 for a total of 16 sections. Article XI has been amended 8 times, the first time in 1923 and most recently in 1972.

Article XII

Article XII describes the powers and limitations of private corporations and is labelled Corporations other than Municipal. It includes sections 1-22, for a total of 22 sections. Article XII has been amended three times, the first time in 1940 and most recently in 1977.

Article XIV

Article XIV is labeled Seat of Government. It established that the location of the seat of government cannot be determined by the Washington State Legislature but instead, must be determined by a statewide vote of the people. Once the initial decision about where to locate the seat of government was made, this Article says that it can only be changed in the future by a 2/3rds supermajority vote, except in the case of an emergency as defined in Section 42 of Article II.

Article XV

Article XVI

Article XVI summarizes what can be done with school lands and those granted by the state. It is labeled School and Granted Lands. The first amendment ever made to the Washington State Constitution was made to this Article, in 1894.

Article XVII

Article XVII deals with tide lands. In it, the State of Washington "asserts its ownership to the beds and shores of all navigable waters in the state up to and including the line of ordinary high tide, in waters where the tide ebbs and flows, and up to and including the line of ordinary high water within the banks of all navigable rivers and lakes."

Article XVIII

Article XIX

Article XIX is is labeled Exemptions. It has only one short section, and that short section says, "The legislature shall protect by law from forced sale a certain portion of the homestead and other property of all heads of families."

Article XXV

Article XXV is is labeled Jurisdiction. It only has one section, and that section describes how the federal government can have political jurisdiction over tracts of land that lay within the territorial boundaries of the State of Washington.

Article XXVI

Article XXVI details the compact made between the State of Washington and the U.S. Government. It is not subdivided into sections as most articles are. It begins with the observation, "The following ordinance shall be irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the people of this state."

The first part of the compact relates to the freedom of religion, with the strong statement, "That perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured and that no inhabitant of this state shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship." No other fundamental rights are discussed in Article XXVI.

The second part of the compact relates to the ownership of Indian, or tribal, lands that lie with the territorial boundaries of the state, and clarifies that these lands to not belong to the State of Washington.

The third part briefly says, "The debts and liabilities of the Territory of Washington and payment of the same are hereby assumed by this state", while the fourth and last part addresses itself to keeping public schools free from religious dominance by saying, "Provision shall be made for the establishment and maintenance of systems of public schools free from sectarian control which shall be open to all the children of said state."

Article XXVII

Article XXVII assures that no inconveniences shall arise from Washington becoming a state. It is labeled Schedule and has 19 sections, each of which lays out various details of the transaction as the State of Washington transformed from a territory under the control of the U.S. federal government, to being its own state.

Article XXIX

Article XXIX details how public pension and retirement funds may be invested. It is labeled Investments of Public Pension and Retirement Funds., and has been amended three times, most recently in 2000: